Taken by the club with pick 27 in the 2017 AFL Draft, Daniels has established himself as one of the competition’s premier small forwards and a key piece of the GIANTS’ orange tsunami game style. Clean, zippy, and dangerous around goals, Daniels has an innate ability to create something out of nothing for either himself or his teammates. While as dangerous around goals as anyone, one of Daniels’ key strengths lies is his ability to play further up the ground and across half-forward where his creativity and footy IQ allow him to kickstart numerous scoring chains. After playing seven games in his debut season of 2018, Daniels went on to play every game of the 2019 season, highlighted by a memorable goal to help the GIANTS beat Brisbane in the Semi-Final. After 590 days on the sidelines due to consecutive hamstring injuries, Daniels returned to the GIANTS’ forward line in 2023 where he kicked 26 goals from 20 games to finish inside the top 10 of the Kevin Sheedy Medal. He then took his game to another level in 2024 to earn his maiden selection in the All-Australian squad. As well as kicking 23 goals of his own despite playing closer to the middle, Daniels also finished number one in the AFL for goal assists. Daniels was added to the GIANTS’ leadership group for the first time ahead of the 2025 season. Unfortunately, a number of persistent injuries limited Daniels to just six games in 2025, with the star small forward undergoing off-season abdomen/groin surgery ahead of the 2026 season as he looks to return to his damaging best.
